Writing background of borrowing arrows from grass boats

The story of a straw boat borrowing an arrow took place in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan have their own sides. At that time, Cao Cao had just defeated Liu Bei and sent troops to attack Sun Quan, so Liu Bei and Sun Quan joined forces to resist Cao Cao. Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to Sun Quan for help in the war. The story of Zhuge Liang borrowing an arrow from a straw boat happened when Sun Quan and Liu Bei jointly resisted Cao.

"A straw boat borrows an arrow" is one of the most wonderful stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Reading this story often makes people admire Zhuge Liang's cleverness. However, Zhuge Liang has never done this in his life. So, was this story invented by Luo Guanzhong out of thin air? That's not true, because he does have a foundation. According to the reflection? Wu Shu? Pei Songzhi notes that in the 18th year of Jian 'an (AD 2 13), Cao Cao and Sun Quan confronted ruxu (now a waterway from Chaohu Lake in Chao County, Anhui Province to the Yangtze River). Cao Jun was defeated in the first battle, so he couldn't hold on. One day, Sun Quan broke into the front by canoe from ruxu to observe the deployment of Cao Jun. Sun Quan's canoe went for five or six miles, and the drums were full of music. Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. Seeing that Sun Jun was so powerful, he was afraid of fraud and didn't dare to go to war. He sighed and said, "My son should be like Sun Zhongmou, and Liu Jingsheng's son should be like a dolphin and a dog!" Subsequently, Cao Cao ordered the crossbow to be shot at Wuchuan. Soon, Sun Quan's canoe was in danger of capsizing because there were too many arrows on one side. Sun Quan ordered the bow to be turned around, so that the other side was hit by an arrow again. After a while, all the arrows were laid flat, and Sun Jun returned safely. Cao Cao realized that he had been cheated.